고 죽다

gojukda

Patternheard in 56 videos · 68 times

die having done, or missed, it

The -고 clause is what you did, or failed to do, before dying: 하고 싶은 거를 좀 다 하고 죽어야겠다 "I should do everything I want to do before I die", 말도 거의 못 하고 죽은 "died without getting to say much". The negative version carries the regret. 먹고 죽더라도 — "even if it kills me" — is hyperbole about eating too much rather than a real death, and 폼에 살고 죽고 "live and die by style" is a slogan. Speaking respectfully about an actual death, Koreans use 돌아가시다 instead.

Register: some uses are hyperbole, not literal

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